The present invention relates to systems and methods to apply for processing accounts and, more particularly, to enable a merchant to apply for a credit card processing account using a small form factor computing device such as a handheld computer with modem, PDA with modem, or phone connecting to a server through a communications medium.
Customers use credit cards and other bankcards, such as direct debit cards, to purchase and order goods and services from merchants. Banks and other financial service organizations complete, collect and process merchant applications to sign up for card processing, either directly with the merchant, through a sales representative of the bank or indirectly, through an outsource company that specializes in obtaining merchant applications. The faster that a merchant can sign up for customer card processing, the faster the merchant can collect revenues from credit card and bank card sales. In addition, the customer is given the convenience of multiple options for payment. It is estimated that an electronic and automated method for data capture and data distribution can reduce the time of merchant sign up from 28 days to 2 days. The faster the bank or financial services institution can get the merchant signed up, the faster they can collect funds for processing credit card transactions, and the faster they can generate revenue from the use of a card for the transaction. Merchants are located in many different places across the globe and the sales force that visits them covers a large territory. Organizing and tracking the collected merchant applications, distributing and reporting the data to the proper parties, and distributing the merchant number that signals the approval for services for card processing is a daunting task of data distribution and logistics management that spans across several organizations. Sales representatives are required to learn the complex process of completing a merchant application, which requires coordinating pricing models (which change very frequently), and discounts available along with a complete listing of hardware and software that the merchant can choose from to process cards at the store. The sales rep must also know the rules for making a decision about which combination of hardware is best suited for the merchant and which software is configured for that hardware. Often the merchant application is completed and approved only to be delayed by the delivery of the incorrect hardware and software for “card swiping” or credit entry. A delay in getting the right solution to the customer delays the realization of financial services organization revenue for transactions and merchant revenue for card use by the customer. Some sales reps, in an effort to avoid all the inconvenience of the process, have the merchant sign the application in blank, for later input into a laptop system. Relying on human memory leads to errors, or at best, makes the process of completing a merchant card processing application redundant.
Typical methods for merchant card processing applications are solutions that automate and allow for electronic data capture for certain portions of the sale and merchant application process. Some sales representatives who visit a merchant location to collect data for the merchant's application use laptop solutions. A laptop solution, or a laptop with a handheld device that connects to it, eliminates the need for manual completion of paperwork associated with the process, yet requires sales representatives to carry a heavy laptop into a sales call with a merchant. These laptops are expensive and easily damaged or stolen and cumbersome to set up in a retail store where space is very valuable. The laptop solution is also lacking a mechanism for sales representatives to receive information about potential customers who have notified a bank of their interest in signing up for card processing services. The solution provided to a sales force is usually a piecemeal combination of hardware, software and connectivity that is not easily updated if and when frequent changes are implemented in a merchant application. In addition, completing a credit processing application using a laptop system is cumbersome for data entry and is obtrusive to the merchant. Connecting to a server for delivery of the data from the laptop is a complicated process of sign-on and requires constant connectivity to the database during the process. Sales reps and merchant are alienated as a result of the complex system of software and laptop to make the solution work. Complaints about this method include the following comments from sales reps: “There is no place to set up the laptop with the merchant”; “It takes too much time to boot up the laptop”; “Making corrections to errors is not easy”; and “Laptops are expensive to purchase and support”. Another method for completion of a merchant application is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,349 (Zirkel) entitled “System and Method for Enabling a Merchant to Apply for a Credit Card Account Using the Internet.” The scheme in this patent is an advance over paper-based system of a sales representative completing an application for a merchant. However, there are several problems with this approach:
(1) A merchant must purchase and install or must have available to them a computer with browser software and Internet connectivity. Then the merchant must install the hardware, software and connectivity and maintain the system.
(2) Connection to the Internet must be continuous during completion of the application process or all input that was made in an application will be lost and the input must be reentered.
(3) Two-way synchronization is not available to return the status of the application (whether it was approved) or to ask additional questions to approve the application.
(4) Brick and Mortar stores require additional hardware and software in order to electronically process the cards, yet a mechanism for calculating the right combination of hardware and software is not available as part of the Internet solution.
(5) Merchants are very seldom at their desk and are often “minding the store” so that a desktop solution cannot be easily accessed anytime.
(6) Laptops, laptops with handhelds, or handhelds with browser capabilities require recompiling to configure changes in the applications on the handheld or laptop.
The present invention solves each of those problems and is a significant improvement over a laptop solution.
Requirements of a mobile wireless merchant bankcard processing application—Such an application must solve the problems listed above. In one solution set forth in the present invention, four main components are required as follows:
1. A computer system for portable digital data capture and data distribution—This system will manage the design and assembly of the complex components that make up the entire application process. This includes the logistics management of card processing hardware and software inventory, configuration for the merchant and delivery of the desired solution.
2. A set of specialized programs that consist of interfaces, logic and edit checks on handheld computing devices or phones that enable a user to enter and view data, assignments, help text, answer choices, and other items and help the user calculate the needs of the customer based on input made in the interface.
3. A set of specialized tools that enable a user to make changes to data and information that will be revealed to the user of the handheld device and to enable other users to distribute and view data collected with the devices.
4. A means for delivering new programs specific to each handheld device based on data received from other databases, interfaces, or based on data received from the handheld device. An example of this is the delivery of the merchant number, which designates the approval of the merchant's card processing account or the delivery of a request for additional information. The advantage of this is that it speeds time to revenues for both the financial service organization and the merchant.
5. A means for automated synchronization of the programs to deliver data, receive data, or be updated with new program functionality and configurations.
These requirements can be met with the following six elements:
1. A Computer System for Portable Digital Data Capture and Data Distribution
One system that is suitable for use in the present invention is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/724,541. A mobile electronic merchant application is used to capture and distribute different data within the project. It may also be used to capture and distribute different data between projects. For example, within the project, one sales rep may serve the needs of the lodging merchants with all the associated questions, pricing models and hardware and software for “card swiping”, while another sales rep may serve the restaurant merchants with a different set of information required for them. Within the project, the two different sales reps would receive a different directory of data capture objects on their handheld device that will enable them to view and enter data without sorting through questions and screens that do not pertain to their work. In addition, different questions might be required across different sales forces and/or different financial service firms. To manage this customization across companies and sales reps, the system must automate the design, creation, manipulation, tracking, visualizing, and distribution of a data capture and data distribution project, as described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/724,541. The logistics requirements of managing the merchant's hardware and software needs for card processing and the ordering and delivery of this equipment are a complex. This problem can be solved by the use of the system in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/724,541.
2. Significant Number of Data Elements
The merchant application process requires the entry of a large number of data elements (questions). On average, there are 1,000-1,500 questions for data capture in a merchant application. Merchants and the sales rep must answer demographic information about the business and other business locations, and about the owners of the business. There are questions about bank references, credit references, expected sales and type of goods sold. There is legal information needed regarding bankruptcies, credit history and other businesses. Then there are questions about the services that the merchant will require for card processing, for example, is a PIN Pad for entry of a PIN needed, a barcode scanner for check reading, or does the merchant want VISA, MasterCard and AMEX. On a handheld computing device or a phone, the screen is small and not easily visualized so that it would be necessary to present multiple questions on an individual screen without crowding the screen with information and making it difficult to visualize. In addition the device does not have the computing capabilities of a laptop or desktop PC. It is therefore important to present the questions in a simple computing format so that complex calculations, logic that sorts through and presents screens, navigation and edit checks might be included in each of the questions.
3. Store and Forward Architecture Enabling Offline Browsing
The use of HTML pages in U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,349 requires that the HTML pages with answers input by the merchant be returned to the server and then returned to the device if the answers are not completely filled out. This would be similar with Wireless Markup Language (WML) pages or with the presentation of a form on a device. Waiting for a message that the page is not completely filled would take time and would require a constant connection to the server. The constant connectivity needed for pages and forms may be impossible with the short supply of bandwidth and with the drop off of connectivity in wireless networks. The requirements for a mobile wireless merchant application system should include a store and forward architecture that enables objects to be delivered to the handheld computer and enables the user to work “offline” and then connect to the server to transmit data that has been collected and verified as accurate by the objects on the device. Being tethered to an Internet connection in order to perform work is not a mobile solution. Neither is a solution that requires the user to synchronize with the desktop or laptop. In comparison, this would be like a mobile phone that requires one to return to a desk station to connect and receive all calls. This is not a truly mobile solution. To utilize an Internet connection with HTML pages would limit the mobile capabilities of the device and limit the benefits for a mobile workforce. The use of object-based architecture, where each of the individual screens or questions is an object that is forwarded to the device for use while not connected, creates additional flexibility and mobility for the sales rep. With architecture such as described above, there is one point of entry for the changes, which are forwarded to all users. Changes to the application, pricing, or product availability can be immediately forwarded to all users in the field, eliminating the need to return to a central location for updates. In addition, if a problem arises that the device becomes lost or the battery drains, the lost objects can be immediately remotely forwarded to the device during a connection with the server. Information, as well as data capture objects, can be forwarded. For example, the in-house sales group that has obtained sales leads can forward the merchant application that was started over the phone to the appropriate sales rep.
A mobile wireless merchant card processing application system provides for the capture and distribution of an organization's mission critical data. An important requirement for this solution is to provide this functionality via wireless devices with no drop-off despite the narrow bandwidth available today. Bandwidth cannot be a primary concern with the need for large sets of answers and other information transmitted to and from the handheld device. Meticulous organization tracking and delivery of project subsets using a system such as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/724,541 eliminates the need for a lot of bandwidth required during transmission of the objects with any standard operating system including Palm OS, Win CE and RIM. Telecommunications carriers use a host of network options for connectivity such as CDMA, CDPD, TDMA, GSM and 802.11 networks. A system will need to optimize the use of the spectrum by using both circuit switched and packet-switched data services. Store and forward technology in combination with the efficient use of bandwidth enables the user to enter data in the handheld device or phone without a constant connection to a wireless network. Data organized and communicated by a system such as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/724,541 during transmission to make the most efficient use of bandwidth provides communications that are relatively short and tightly controlled. This flexibility gives users a choice regarding the best possible communications mechanism. The network, the carrier, the bandwidth should not be a concern and there should not be a problem with stopped data due to bandwidth limitations.
4. Safety and Security of Data Transmission
Sensitive financial information is collected during data input by a sales rep and it is essential to maintain control with user ID and PIN so that information is available to only those with permission to view it. User ID and PIN is in addition to the security of the server that recognizes only devices approved for access. Encryption on the device and during transmission and transmissions of answers only (not questions with answers) is necessary so that interrupted transmissions are not read. When transmissions are interrupted, the system needs to prevent loss of data.
5. Signature Capture and Specialized Functionality
The ability to collect the signature of the merchant is an essential part of the application. There may be additional functionality requirements among the different user groups/sales force that will need the ability to add new sets of objects that automate other aspects of the sales process, such as the presales encounter and sales encounter process, among others.
6. Reporting
Although reports may not be essential for a system such as this, the availability of reports distributed to the handheld device or the phone eliminate the need for the sales rep to return to the office to view the status of accounts, view their work for the month, get assignments, and get updates in pricing and product/service offerings. Reporting, as discussed herein, also includes the ability to translate and distribute data returned to the project database into other databases and the ability to translate and return data from other databases to the project database to be forwarded as a subset of objects to a specific user's device.
7. Synchronization for Program Changes and Data Exchange
The ability to connect to a small storage computer to receive updates to the program without the intervention of technical support. This remote configuration allows changes to be made to the program without the need to remove the handheld device from use in the field.